The present invention relates to opening and closing a container having a slidable shutter type closure. In particular, the present invention relates to opening and closing a reagent pack on an automated analyzer.
Known diagnostic analyzers include immunodiagnostic and clinical chemistry analyzers such as the Vitros® ECi immunodiagnostic analyzer, sold by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. These types of analyzers include a source of reagents for carrying out various tests. Most often, the reagents are stored in containers having removable closures, which are opened and closed each time the reagent is accessed to limit evaporation and provide on-analyzer storage stability. For example, a reagent pack container as shown in FIG. 1 is used on the Vitros® ECi immunodiagnostic analyzer, sold by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. The shutter closure on the container shown in FIG. 1 is opened and closed by an opener that is positioned over the shutter closure. In operation, the opener lowers over the shutter, engages the shutter and rotates to open the container. This type of opener is described in “Service Manual for the Vitros ECi Immunodiagnostic System—Reagent Supply,” Publication No. SM3354-6, published Apr. 5, 2001 by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In addition to having a relatively complex design, this type of opener requires the reagent pack container to be moved into position and come to a complete stop. The opener then engages the stopped reagent pack to open the pack. The pack is then rotated to a reagent metering station where reagent is aspirated using a reagent aspirate probe. The reagent pack is then rotated back to the opener, where the opener engages the shutter closure and closes the reagent pack.
In diagnostic analyzers, the throughput of an analyzer, i.e., the number of tests performed per hour, provides an important competitive advantage. However, the analyzer is only as fast as its slowest system. For example, if an incubator of an analyzer can process 180 tests/hr, but the reagent supply can only supply reagent for 90 tests/hr, then the system will necessarily be limited to 90 tests/hr.
With the known opener described above, the speed of accessing the reagents is limited (and thus the throughput of the analyzer is limited) due to requirement that the reagent pack be stopped to in order for the opener to engage the shutter opener/closure. Amongst other factors, such as the necessity to wash reagent metering probes, etc., the slow opening of a reagent pack contributes to the overall slowness of reagent metering. For example, the current process used to open and close these packs takes 8 seconds. In the current system using non-disposable reagent metering, the 8-second pack open/close time is not significant because it is done while the reagent-metering probe is being washed. With the disposable tip reagent-metering system being advantageous, the probe wash is eliminated which eliminates the available time to open and close the pack without causing a delay in assay processing. With the disposable tip reagent metering system, the pack opening and closing becomes the roadblock to improved throughput.
Other known openers include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,167,172 and 4,762,029 for opening and closing containers.
None of the known art described above, adequately addresses resolving the problems described above, in particular, of opening and closing containers in a relatively simple, efficient and quick manner. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a container opener that is relatively simple, efficient and can quickly open and close a container.